Unforgettable
by Cassie Jamie
Summary: Memories under a fog always escape in the end. CJDanny, JoshSam.[ PostAdmin. ]


**Disclaimer:** Not mine.  
**Title:** Unforgettable  
**Rating:** PG  
**Genre:** Drama  
**Pairing:** Josh/Sam, CJ/Danny  
**Summary:** Memories under a fog always escape in the end.  
**Notes:** Post-Administration.  
  
She still gets vague flashbacks of the White House, leftovers of her youth when she and her friends still thought they could change the world. Days when they were idealistic about what the future would bring.  
  
Her hair has thinned considerably, she's shrunk an inch or so, and her hands are gnarled nearly into fists. She tries to flatten them out everyday when she wakes, but continues to need to friendly man they tell her is her grandson to help her eat because she can't grip the spoon.  
  
The morning prior the man had brought a woman with him, "Nana, this is Marissa. She's Aunt Ally's daughter. Do you remember her?"  
  
And memories pushed to be released from the fog they were kept under. She swore that she saw a brunette little girl prancing through desks and smiling at her while a man called for her to return. Unknowingly the old woman spoke, "Alison..."  
  
A bright smile lit the young couple's faces and they stayed with her until the orderly called that visiting hours were over.  
  
She woke the next day, aware of something that had eluded her. A past she'd lost but seemed to have returned, if only for a few hours. A grin lit her features as she recalled the Oval Office, the First Daughters, and countless people she swore she'd never forget.  
  
Donna with her long pretty hair and an ability to play her boss like a violin; Margaret's gossiping nature that kept the entire building buzzing with information at every corner.  
  
Mrs. Landingham. A woman who was an amazing organizer whom left them at a time they needed her the most.  
  
Quick to anger Toby, a man who'd given them all a reason to quit at one time or another but always protected his friends when they needed him to. He'd died the year after his twins graduated college, and she had missed him dearly.  
  
Leo, the most formidable Chief of Staff that had ever held the position, who's sudden heartattack a few weeks after they left office had stunned all.  
  
A redheaded reporter who'd become one of the staff's greatest allies named Danny Concannon.  
  
Josiah Bartlet had privately admitted once that without the handpicked staff he'd harangued for most of the campaign trail, he wouldn't have made it to the White House, and without his wife, Abigail, he wouldn't have even gone along with Leo when he'd first asked him to run.  
  
Alison shot into her mind, a glint in Josh's eye at first. It was their sixth year when she became a picture that had been sorted into Donna's mail instead of his. Out at meetings on the hill until lunchtime, his post-administration plans were public knowledge when he returned. The smile that he wore for the rest of the day had been infectious.  
  
It was months before the small child joined their chaotic group, but with bright brown eyes and richly tanned skin, the nearly-three year old became a miniature Donna who was often found sitting in the Oval Office while the President spent time on the phone.  
  
And Sam. The man who'd journey away from his makeshift family on a venture he twice claimed was to be nearer to his mother but was in reality a long vacation from a brand of politics that sucked the life from him. In the end, all it took was a call from Cathy about the explosions in Gaza to bring back the wayward son.  
  
The scandal that followed his return had nearly sent him back from whence he'd come; a stern talking to by Abbey reminded him that in their years, the storms they had weathered – a shooting, censure, Zoey's kidnapping – each had ended, if not happily, but had ended better than it had begun. Running was not their style, and when had he given the public the right to dictate whom he loved?  
  
She remembered the patience they had all given while Josh and Sam quietly brought home a little girl from India, leaving the rest of the crew behind to handle damage control. Then she recalled the kiss the two men shared their last day in the building, standing in the middle of the bullpen, which ended with a crinkled nose and a "Eww! PDA!" from Alison.  
  
Another day she swore she'd never forget and suddenly she heard an aged voice call, "CJ." A hand took her own, and she heard others clambering around her.  
  
Murmurs came and she heard in the fray of people, "They don't expect her to go much longer."  
  
Instantly, a thought washed through her: if these were her final moments then her recollection had not returned out of simple good luck. No, she was getting her chance to linger in the past as she had wished each time one of the elusive memories had crossed her mind.  
  
Josh spoke to her and she remembered the gaffe their second year with Mary Marsh. "The God you pray to is too busy being indicted for tax fraud!" floated into her mind. She let out a breathy giggle. How many times she'd laughed whenever she heard the soundbite, played over and over during their sixth year.  
  
And one more memory flashed before her eyes, perfect in its simplicity:  
  
_"You're going to marry Danny, CJ. You're going to marry him and there will be more children to run around this house, and god, won't that be something?" Jed smiled, his illness weighing on his skin but he stubbornly refused to let it slow him down.  
  
She smiled, "Unforgettable, Mr. President. It'll be unforgettable."_


End file.
